‘Witch’ killed and burned in northwestern Colombia

A woman from the northwestern Colombian department of Antioquia has been murdered after being accused of being a witch, local media reported Saturday.

According to the reports, the woman was found dead on Friday in her home in a rural area little more than 10 miles south of Medellin on Friday.

Police had found that she had been beaten to death after which the murderers drenched her lifeless body with gasoline and set fire to it.

The mayor of the Santa Barbara municipality condemned the homicide, calling it an expression of “abhorrent intolerance that resembles the days of the inquisition.”

Locals have said the woman had been accused of having been a witch who had put a spell on a local boy. According to police, no objects indicating the woman was practicing witchcraft were found in her home.

According to the mayor, another woman was murdered in the municipality six years ago over accusations of being a witch.